Ray Bryant has been playing jazz for over 50 years, and during that time he has accompanied jazz legends like Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Lester Young. In addition, Bryant achieved wider popular recognition during the 1960’s with some of his most widely recognized songs like "Cubano Chant" and "Slow Freight." Born into a musical family, Bryant is the uncle of the Eubanks brothers, although the haven’t had the opportunity to perform together. At this stage of his career, …

In many cases, the percussionist is the unsung hero of many groups. While the horn players or singers capture the spotlight, in many cases the entire mood of a concert, and particularly of some tunes, would be entirely different without the assistance of a percussionist. In many cases, even today, it is difficult to study to be a percussionist, and many of the best known and most successful percussionists have taken up the challenge of playing percussion by the love of the instruments and the lo …

As one of the under-recognized jazz artists who has appeared with a multitude of musicians in a multitude of contexts since the 1970’s, Adam Nussbaum continues to add drive and textures to the groups in which he performs. Most recently, he played in Steve Swallow’s quintet, not to mention Nussbaum’s own group with Jerry Bergonzi and Dan Wall. But Nussbaum has performed with a veritable who’s who of jazz musicians, including Gil Evans, Dave Liebman, John Scofield, Bill Evans, Bobby Watson, Ar …

There has been a guiding light in Jon Faddis' musical career: Dizzy Gillespie. So much so that most listeners can his Gillespie's unmistakable influence on Faddis' style. Very few trumpeters can play Gillespie's works with the same degree of articulation, range and fire. But Faddis can. Having met Gillespie when he was but 12 years old, Faddis was with him when he died as well. If you talk to other musicians who have played with Gillespie, you find that his influence on all of his friends wa …

A Milwaukee native, David Hazeltine has arrived not once, but twice, on the New York jazz scene. Each time, he has advanced his career by earning the respect of singers and musicians as a supreme accompanist. And with the release of a string of CD’s that he has led, Hazeltine has established himself as one of the more articulate and technically adept pianists. Ordinarily known for his straight-ahead acoustic piano work, Hazeltine is expanding his horizons by working now on a Hammond B-3 orga …